Incident Details
The accident occurred during a local training flight that had just departed from Miami-Opa Locka Airport. A few minutes after takeoff, the aircraft experienced a failure of both engines. The pilot-in-command executed an emergency ditching procedure, setting the airplane down in the ocean a few hundred yards from the shore. Upon contact with the water, the aircraft sank and was lost. Three people were aboard the flight: the pilot-in-command, another occupant, and a flight instructor.
Rescue Efforts
Following the ditching, two of the three individuals were successfully rescued. The flight instructor, however, could not be located after evacuating the accident site. The search for the missing instructor continued without success.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the probable cause of the accident was powerplant failure for undetermined reasons.